


Love Knows No Adultery

by WhimsyNeptune



Series: Love Knows No Time [2]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Confusion, Established Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Emma Swan, F/F, Fluff and Angst, POV Evil Queen | Regina Mills, Worried Regina Mills, Worry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-26
Updated: 2018-03-03
Packaged: 2019-03-09 16:33:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13485450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhimsyNeptune/pseuds/WhimsyNeptune
Summary: It's been over a decade since the events of Love Knows No time, and Regina and Emma have been happily married ever since... Until a few months ago when Emma became incredibly invested in her phone. Regina is worried that things between her and Emma are deteriorating, and she is determined to find out what is truly going on.Will she like what she finds??





	1. Chapter 1

Fifteen years.

That was how long Regina had been married to her beautiful, blonde wife. Fifteen Swan-Mills family Thanksgivings, Christmases, Easters, Valentine’s Days, and anniversaries. She was still irrevocably in love with Emma, but as of late, Emma had been distant, and secretive. She tried to ignore it, and dismiss it as work-related issues that Emma didn’t want to bother Regina with, but it didn’t really make much sense, Regina was the mayor, she knew everything that the Sheriff’s Office did.

She sat at the dinner table with her wife as they ate their supper. “How was work today, darling?” She asked conversationally.

Emma looked up as her mouth was full of pasta and dramatically chewed faster in an effort to speak sooner. “It was alright. I really wish that retiring was an option sometimes, though, but with the never-aging, and inevitably never-dying thing, it’s kind of impossible.” She chuckled as she glanced at her phone that had just lit up.

Regina frowned. Emma had been doing that a lot lately. “Who is that?”

Emma met her eyes. “Hm? Oh! No one. Just mom.”

Regina felt relief flood through her just a bit. At least she knew that it wasn’t a significant other… at least not right now… There could still be someone else. The thing was, though, that no matter how badly she would be hurt from the betrayal if Emma _was_ cheating, she knew she’d forgive her, she just didn’t want Emma to know that. “Well, can’t she go five minutes without talking to you? She saw you less than an hour ago.”

Emma furrowed her brow. “It’s just a text, Gina.”

Regina sighed and nodded her head. She didn’t want her wife knowing that she was doubting her loyalty… that could cause irreparable damage if Emma _weren’t_ being unfaithful. “Yes, I know. I just had a tough day at the office today.”

There was a hint of concern on Emma’s face as she paused in her reply to the text and focused her attention on her wife. “My senses are saying there’s something more to this than that…What’s going on?”

Regina’s heart pounded in her chest. She couldn’t admit to Emma that she had a suspicion that the Sheriff was cheating because if she wasn’t, that could start a huge fight… that could _end their marriage._ Even worse, if Regina mentioned her suspicions and Emma came out and admitted that Regina wasn’t making her happy anymore, so she had found someone else, Regina’s life would be shattered. If Emma admitted to an affait, Regina would undoubtedly spiral into a deep depression, and, well, she would probably not make it out of it alive. “Nothing, dear. I just need a vacation… Our Anniversary is in two weeks, you know... we could still schedule a trip.” Regina hinted hopefully.

Emma coughed on her food before taking a large sip of her apple cider and nodding in response. “Yeah, but we already talked about this, Regina. We don’t have time to go on our anniversary trip this year.”

Regina’s heart ached, and fear crept into her mind. Was Emma genuinely so unhappy that she didn’t want to spend their anniversary together? Sure, they had quite a bit larger of a workload than usual, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t go out of town for a few days, did it? The village could survive a few days without the Mayor and Sheriff, right? “Yes, I know. It’s just wishful thinking.” She said with a fake smile.

Emma smiled. “I promise we can have a romantic anniversary dinner, okay?” She asked as she reached over the table to grip Regina’s hand. “By the way, thank you for dinner. It’s magnificent.”

Regina clenched onto Emma’s hand, afraid that if she let go Emma would fly into the arms of another. She smiled genuinely at the compliment that made her heart soar. “You’re welcome, baby. I know my lasagna is your favorite.”

Emma chuckled with a nod. “That it is. You’re the best cook in town.”

Regina smiled, everything felt the same with them until the blonde’s phone would ring, and then it would immediately take precedence over everything else. Regina hoped beyond all rationality that Emma wasn’t cheating, but she really had no other idea what those texts and calls could be. “I love you so much, Em. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Emma smiled adoringly at her wife. “I love you too, baby.” She said before raising their joined hands to her lips and pressing a tender kiss to her wife’s hand.

Regina’s heart fluttered, and her stomach filled with butterflies just like when they had been dancing around each other all those years before. Only Emma could have such a substantial effect on her. From the moment she laid eyes on Emma, only she could create a hurricane inside of Regina that instantly enamored her.

**XXX**

Later that night, Regina laid in bed as she watched Emma in their bedroom’s ensuite stand in the mirror in her tight white tank-top and black boy shorts as she brushed her teeth. Regina’s heart filled with jealousy as Emma’s phone went off and she (attempted to) discreetly opened the text and smiled brightly before typing a response and rinsing her mouth. The mayor watched as Emma sauntered out into the bedroom with a seductive smirk on her face.

Regina arched her brow and smirked through the pain. She refused to allow Emma to know that she was having horrible suspicions.  “Wanting something, Savior?”

Emma nodded as her smirk turned from seductive to predatorial. “My wife.” She purred before she pounced onto the bed and smashed her lips into the brunette’s.

Regina squealed gleefully into the kiss and smiled as she wrapped her arms around the woman of her dreams. She felt her wife run her hands all over her, and her body set aflame with desire for the woman she loved. They continued to kiss desperately as Emma began to lift up Regina’s shirt. Arousal pooled between Regina’s legs before a vision of Emma doing the exact same thing to someone else flashed before her eyes, and she pushed Emma back forcefully as jealousy and anger trekked through her circulatory system.

Emma looked at her stunned in confusion. “What’s wrong baby?” She asked earnestly.

“I’m just not in the mood to be manhandled by you!” Regina spat viciously. She knew it wasn’t fair, there was no hard proof that Emma was committing adultery, but Regina’s mind wouldn’t believe that she wasn’t. There just wasn’t any reasonable explanation for how addicted to her cellphone Emma had become.

“M-man handled? Was I doing something wrong?” Emma asked, devastation and confusion swirling in her eyes. Regina’s heart clenched at the sight of pain on her gorgeous wife’s face.

“I don’t need a reason not to want to have a quick lay with you. I’m much too old for that.” She was going into Regal-Bitch mode, and as much as she hated seeing Emma hurt, she couldn’t stop herself from doing it. She needed to know once and for all what was going on with Emma so that she could either plead with Emma to end the affair, or put her mind at ease by knowing that there was another explanation and that their marriage was fine… Which she was sure wasn’t the case.

Emma furrowed her brows but sighed and nodded. “Alright, babe… What’d I do?”

Regina hadn’t expected that but just shrugged her shoulders. “Nothing.”

“Then why are you suddenly disgusted at the idea of touching me?” Emma asked pleadingly.

And, _oh_ Regina hated the utter heartbreak that covered Emma’s face. She couldn’t bear it, sure the idea of Emma having an affair was devastating, but even if that were the case, she wouldn’t want Emma to hurt because of her. “Baby, I’m just not in the mood, okay? Can we… Can we just get some sleep?” She asked as she rubbed the blonde’s arm.

Emma frowned and nodded before her phone went off. She reached for it, causing Regina’s heart to clench as she watched Emma fight a smile. The sheriff kissed Regina’s cheek. “Goodnight sweetheart.” She said sweetly as she turned off the light before laying down on her side, facing away from Regina.

Regina wanted so badly to look at the text Emma was typing up but decided that she wouldn’t. “Goodnight, my love.” The queen replied. She pretended to fall asleep, and fifteen minutes later, she laid silently as Emma got up and went to the ensuite with her phone. Regina heard it ring before the angelic voice of the woman that owned her soul answered it.

_“Hello?”_ Regina heard her answer.

_“No, no… she’s sleeping.”_ The blonde announced; causing nausea to crawl into the Queen’s abdomen.

_“I don’t think she suspects anything, but she’s acting kind of strange today. I don’t think it’s because she knows about what’s going on though, so we just have to keep acting normal, or she will start to suspect something.”_ Regina let out an almost silent whimper as tears began to cascade down her face. Emma _was_ cheating on her. Of course, she was… when did anything ever go right for the Evil Queen? She _had_ to continuously be devastated… it seemed like that was just the way the universe wanted it.

_“No! We can’t tell her! Are you insane!?!”_ Emma scolded the other party. “ _Because! If she finds out, then we screw_ **_everything_** _up!”_

Regina inhaled sharply to fight back a whimper.

_“Fine! Meet me behind Granny’s as soon as you can.”_ Emma growled. “ _If she finds out about any of this I’m going to kill you!_ ” There was a chuckle before the sheriff spoke one last time. “ _I love you too. I can’t wait to see you.”_

Regina heard that and died inside. Whatever hope Regina had at getting Emma to end the affair and go to couples’ counseling to fix their marriage died at the blonde’s declaration of love. If Emma really did love this new lover of hers, there was no hope for she and Regina.

Regina heard Emma magic herself away, so she did the only thing she thought best. She stood up, magicked herself some clothes, and teleported herself to the alley behind Granny’s.

There was no point in pretending to be oblivious any longer. It’d only hurt them both.


	2. Chapter 2

Regina arrived behind a dumpster in the alley behind the diner. She took a deep breath and looked over it to watch her wife. Just as she was about to come out of hiding, she saw a brunette woman appear from around the corner and watched as Emma’s eyes lit up as the other woman came into her view.

Regina’s blood ran cold… _Lily_.

It made sense now… all the ‘She’s my best friend, Regina!’s Everything made sense now… of course, Emma would be cheating on her with Maleficent’s long-lost daughter. That’s just how the universe worked for her.

She watched as Emma enveloped the other woman in a tight embrace and felt a pang of betrayal and heartbreak hit her forcefully in the chest. She continued watching them from behind the dumpster as they began to converse.

“Sneaky bitch!” Lily smirked, seeming entirely too impressed.” I’m amazed. How’d the missus not catch you sneaking out?” Lily asked as she grabbed something out of her satchel.

Emma chuckled as she took the offered item from the other woman. “Having magic has its perks. It also doesn’t hurt that she’s an incredibly heavy sleeper. Especially now that Henry’s moved out.”

“Are you sure she doesn’t know what we’re doing?” Lily asked conspiratorially.

“ ** _God,_** I hope not. She’d never let me live it down.” Emma laughed as she placed a hand on Lily's arm.

Anger coursed through Regina, and she couldn’t think clearly as she was overcome with a fury that she hadn’t felt in over five decades.

“YOU ADULTEROUS BITCH!” The former Queen screamed as she emerged from the dumpster. “You lying, greedy, self-absorbed ‘hero’!”

Emma turned around with wide eyes and a terrified look on her face. “Regina!?”

The queen smirked devilishly. “That’s right, ‘baby’!” She spit the last word out as if it was the vilest thing she’d ever tasted. “Remember me? Your _wife?_ The woman you vowed to love eternally? The one you were supposed to be _faithful_ to? The woman that literally _moved time_ to get a chance to be with you!?!”

Emma’s eyes were wide, showing dejection. “Regina, how could you ever sa-,”

“How could **_I_**?” She asked incredulously. “How could **_you_**?!” Regina countered. “You stood there fifteen years ago and promised me yourself for the rest of time, but I guess I shouldn’t really be so surprised… it didn’t take much for me to swipe you away from the pirate…”

Emma’s eyes glistened with tears, and Regina’s heart ached… Even after this devastating betrayal, all that mattered to her was Emma’s happiness… she was just too heartbroken to show it at the moment.

“Regina that took a _lot_. I never cheated on him, and I’d never cheat on you..” Emma shook her head and gestured to the other woman in all of this. “Lily is an event planner now… I told you this a few months ago, remember? She and I, we’re-,” Emma cut herself off as she whimpered. “We were planning to surprise you with a vow renewal for our sixteenth anniversary…” She croaked out.

Regina immediately felt the air get sucked out of her lungs… How on Earth had she miscalculated so drastically? She looked at the infuriated best friend of her wife and fell utterly speechless. She should have known better… Emma _was_ good… she was perhaps the only good person in the entire town. “Em-,”

Emma shook her head. “How could you ever think that I’d hurt you that way? How could you have such little faith in us?” Emma was bawling, and all Regina wanted to do was engulf the sheriff in her arms. But she knew better; she’d lost that privilege the moment she allowed her fury to take over her body. If the roles were reversed, and Emma had thrown such a despicable accusation towards Regina, she’d be enraged…

“Y-you were staying out late, and I just…” Regina couldn’t stop the tears that began to flow down her face.

“You what? Immediately assumed the worst? Didn’t even think to ask me? Didn’t notice that the timing of me beginning to work late was coincidentally two months before out anniversary? That I wouldn’t stay loyal to the love of my life because I’m an idiot?” Emma was crying, hard, exhausting tears. “But yeah, Regina… I’m such a selfish, greedy bitch that I started working late so that I could save up enough money to pay for all of this… I wasn’t lying, Regina… I w _as_ working late… my paychecks that you sign proved that. I wasn’t lying when I said it was my mother texting me because it w _as_ my mother… she’s in on this too. So is Henry…”

Regina struggled to find words to express how incredibly foolish and sorry she felt. “Emma, I-I’m so sorry.”

Emma nodded and pursed her lips as she wiped her tears away furiously. “Yeah…” She said shakily. “Yeah so am I… I’m sorry that I still was never enough, Regina… because if I had been a good enough wife, maybe you’d have thought to actually believe in me…”

Regina’s heart ached at the amount of pain in her wife’s eyes. She didn’t look angry; she didn’t seem irritated; she looked incontestably, irretrievably, _destroyed._ She tried desperately to grab Emma’s hand, wrist… _anything_ Emma… But the sheriff wouldn’t let her get close enough.

“ _Emma_ ,” The mayor pleaded.

Emma shook her head. “I-I can’t do this, Gina. I’ve gotta go.”

Regina began to panic internally. “Go? GO where? We share a house, Em.”

“I’ll just stay at my parents’ place for a bit… I need space, Regina, and I think you do too.”

“You will do no such thing!” Regina said sternly, trying desperately not to let her voice tremor. “We have to work through this! W-we have to.”

Emma continued averting her eyes. “Right now, I’m not so sure I can do that.” She admitted. “I need some space.”

Although it burned her heart like sulfuric acid to do so, she nodded her head in compliance… It was only fair to allow Emma the time she needed to try to come to terms with what Regina had just done. “I understand. Of course, take as much time as you need.”

Emma nodded, and after handing the book that Lily had given her earlier, she disappeared.

As soon as her wife was gone, Regina let out a heartbroken sob and wrapped her hand over her mouth. “Why am I so stupid?”

Lily sighed and shook her head. “You know, I get that it’d be super hard to trust people, especially because of how much you’ve gone through… I can’t blame you for that. But _Emma?_ How would you not be able to trust her? She’s… well, she’s the purest soul out there, and you should’ve known better than that, especially after fifteen years of being with her.”

Regina wiped away the tears that refused to stay at bay and nodded. “I know.”

Lily smiled sadly at her. “I remember when I screwed up with Emma and lost her when we were kids… One of the hardest things I’ve ever gone through… I’d hate to see that happen to you too.”

Regina’s heart sank, and her eyes widened at the thought… Of course, it hurt having Emma walk away from her tonight… but _losing_ Emma altogether because of this?! That was just downright unfathomable. “You think I’m losing her?”

Lily shrugged. “If my spouse came at me with that kind of insults and ridiculous accusations I wouldn’t stay. That was, well, _abusive._ ”

Regina began to process what the dragon just said; why _would_ Emma stay in a marriage where she felt like her partner didn’t trust her? OF course, she was going to marry Hook, but Regia had opened up her eyes, showed her the light, and she’d followed it… All it would take was someone to remind her of what she truly deserved, and Emma would walk away if she felt like Regina wasn’t giving that to her anymore… Anyone would. She looked Lily in the eye and nodded. “You’re right. I have to make things right, I have to prove to her that I still trust her, that it wasn’t her that was the problem, but my own insecurities.”

Lily nodded. “She loves the hell out of you, Regina. She wouldn’t even playfully flirt with me, kept reminding me that she was married and that it was ‘inappropriate.’ You had nothing to worry about.”

Regina sighed. “I know.”

“You’ll figure it out. You two are soulmates.” Lily said confidently.

Regina snorted sardonically. “So is she and Guyliner.”

They both laughed for a moment at the thought of Killian Jones and Emma Swan ever being together again… He hadn’t even been seen since the day of the wedding… Regina had always wondered where Emma had genuinely teleported him… She wasn’t very good at aiming where she wanted to.

“I really fucked up,” Regina said sadly.

“For sure,” Lily said. “But… Let's be honest. You’ve always managed to get what you wanted one way or another… You’re the Evil Queen for Christ’s sake. You’ll figure this out. I mean… If you and Emma can’t make things work, there’s no hope at all for the rest of us.”

Regina scoffed. “You still have Snow White and Prince Charming… The sappiest couple in Storybrooke.”

“Nope.” Lily shook her head. “As soon as you and Emma got together you took over that title.”

“ _Please,”_ The queen said with a roll of her eyes. “There is absolutely no way Emma and I act like them.”

“Oh, but you do,” Lily said with a raised brow. “Ask anyone. It’s disgusting,” She said before starting to tuck the book back into her satchel.

Regina noticed immediately, and curiosity got the better of her. “What is that?” She asked hesitantly.

Lily stopped shoving it into her bag and looked up at her. “A book of tablecloth options.”

Regina’s heart filled with regret. Emma hated picking out paint colors, let alone _tablecloths_. “E-Emma was going through them? She hates decorating…”

The dragon nodded. “She does, but she loves you. She picked out almost everything. She let Snow feel like she was a part of it, but she didn’t give her the final say in anything but the cake.”

Regina felt guilt consume her. She nodded. “Thank you, Lily. You’ve been a great help.”

The younger woman nodded, and Regina was off.

 

**XXX**

 

When Regina got home, she hoped that maybe, just  _maybe_ Emma had a change of mind and decided to come back home; but when she reached their bedroom to find their bed empty, Regina frowned. She took a deep breath and decided that sleeping in that bed, without Emma, was absolutely impossible. She grabbed an extra bed set from the closet and made her way to one of the guest bedrooms.

As she laid in the foreign bed; empty and alone. Regina began to cry. She had made a  _horrible_ and rash decision to confront Emma the way that she had. She hoped that Emma could forgive her soon, or she was going to have to grovel to the Blue Fairy once more. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait... Lots of stuff going on lately. I hope you enjoy this. I hope this story won't be _as _angsty as its predecessor was.__


	3. Chapter 3

Four days… That’s how long it had been since Regina had been able to speak to her wife. Emma needed space, and though at times she’d fallen short, and had attempted to reach her wife through her parents-in-law, she’d respected that.

She’d sent an apology text… which the Charmings had admitted Emma hadn’t received because her phone had been ruined when she’d jumped into the bay to save one of the dwarves from drowning. Regina had nodded with a tight smile and thanked them for their help… They weren’t very happy with the way Regina had blown up at Emma, but they didn’t seem to hate her as she’d feared they would.

 They’d been cordial, and had given Emma all of the messages that she’d asked them to… Even though Regina had been too cowardly to face Emma herself. She knew where she was, she knew where she worked, and she knew that if it were any other time, she’d be marching down to that damned Sheriff Station and telling Emma what’s what, but she couldn’t this time… This time she’d fucked up; she’d fucked up _massively_ , and it wouldn’t have happened if she’d just thought clearly.

If at any time, she’d thought to check and make sure that Emma _had_ been working late, then none of this would have happened. If she’d just trusted Emma, and not let her past insecurities ruin her judgment she’d have been pleasantly surprised with an undoubtedly gorgeous second wedding.

She hadn’t slept well at all since she and Emma had separated. Sleeping in a bed she wasn’t used to, without the love of her life, just wasn’t cause for a good night’s sleep… Especially when she wasn’t sure if she’d ruined everything with said love of her life.

So, she sat in her home office, in the middle of the afternoon, with a bottle of Irish-style apple cider and stared at an empty word document on her computer… It was supposed to be a proposal for a village shopping mall, but with very little sleep, an aching heart, and a pounding head, it was very hard to focus on anything but the fact that she’d single-handedly destroyed her marriage.

There was a knock at her door, which was an odd occurrence because everyone that would want to speak to her had either a key to the mansion or her number to text, so knocking wasn’t really necessary.

Hope spiked up in her chest as she stood (wobbly) and clambered her way to the front door. She opened the door, her heart pounding in hopes that it was her wife coming to forgive her; but it sank when she saw it wasn’t, before picking itself up about an eighth of the way once she registered that it was her son. “Oh… Hello dear.” She slurred happily as she embraced her baby boy. It was a surprise the man had driven eight hours to come see her, but it wasn’t unwelcomed in the slightest. She’d always be happy to see her baby boy.

Henry frowned. “Mom you look terrible.”

“I feel even worse, I can assure you.” The queen deadpanned as she turned to walk back to the office, leaving the door open as an invitation for Henry to enter.

“You screwed up, Mom… But you’re _SwanQueen_! You guys can get through this! You just have to explain everything to her. Apologize, and work on it together!”

Regina fought back a sad smile at her son’s use of their ‘ship name.’ “Your other mother doesn’t wish to see me, Darling. She needs time to stop being so stubborn and realize that I love her and that’s all that matters.” She feigned indifference, but in reality, she felt as if her soul had been set afire with anguish.

Henry raised a brow in challenge. “Really? That’s what you’re going with?”

The mayor averted her eyes, knowing that her son wouldn’t buy her nonchalance for even a fraction of a second, but refusing to back down.

“Ma was working her ass off to do something amazing for your anniversary, but instead of getting to see you enjoy it as she’d hoped, you called her all sorts of names and accused her of cheating. She has every reason to be so upset.”

Regina’s heart sank. “I really hate that I drunk dialed you instead of Ruby.” She admitted, ashamed that she’d accidentally brought Henry into this mess three days earlier.

Henry sighed and shook his head. “You not going to her and apologizing in person is just going to make this entire mess worse… Ma isn’t going to come to you to ask for the apology, and if you don’t go to her to do it willingly, you guys might never speak again. You both are terribly bullheaded, but right now it’s you that messed up.”

The queen’s stomach churned at the thought of never speaking to Emma again because her ego was hurt. But what was she supposed to say? _Emma, I’m sorry I accused you of being an adulterous bitch and brought up past occurrences and distorted them to make you seem like a terrible person when you are in no way even remotely bad. Forgive me and take me back, please?_ Regina scoffed at her inner monolog and shook her head in disgust. “I never deserved her anyway.” She said. “She’ll come around eventually, and then we’ll talk this out. Don’t worry, Darling.” She lied through her teeth. She didn’t believe that for a second… She’d screwed up far too terribly for her o be able to face the woman of her dreams.

Henry shook his head. “Mom, please.”

Regina put down her alcohol, disgusted enough with herself for drinking it in front of her son that it sobered her up quite a bit.  She smiled softly at Henry as she placed a hand over his on the desk. “Everything will be okay, Darling.” She said it with as much faux confidence as she could muster; she wasn’t very sure that Emma would come around again. This was a terrible thing that she wasn’t so sure she could forgive if the tables were turned. “She needs you a bit more right now, however. So… Please, go visit her and let me know how she’s doing?”

Henry sighed and nodded. He stood up. “I really hope you get this worked out… If you two can’t fix this, then no one has hope for true love anymore.”

Regina frowned. “Henry, you and Jacinda are expecting a baby in three months. You two are madly in love… Just because I messed up mine and your mother’s marriage doesn’t mean all love is doomed… Look at your grandparents.”

Henry nodded and sighed. “I’ll go check on Ma. I love you.” He said as he planted a kiss on Regina’s forehead and then turned to leave. He paused at the doorway of the office and turned around. “Oh, and Mom?”

Regina turned to face her baby boy once more. “Yes, sweetheart?”

“Please fight for her.”

**XXX**

Three more days had passed, and Regina still hadn’t mustered up the courage to face her wife. She was appalled and ashamed and wasn’t quite sure how she could look her wife in the eyes. She wanted to talk to her, to apologize, to beg for one last chance, but every time she reached the block that the Sheriff station resided on, she lost all her nerve and teleported herself away.

She was afraid that she’d say something stupid, and Emma would reject her apology… Or even worse, that she’d say everything correctly and Emma still wouldn’t want her back. She sat at her desk in Townhall and moped about. She’d still not slept well since the incident because she continued sleeping in an empty guest bed, but now that she’d figured out that Benadryl makes you drowsy, she’d at least gotten a few hours of sleep each night.

She fought back tears as she stared at her home screen on her laptop. It was a picture of their fifteenth-anniversary trip… They’d taken a cruise all the way to Fiji and had gone snorkeling. Emma had her head tilted back as she laughed at Regina who thought she’d seen a crawdad, and Emma had made a joke saying “You should be grateful for crawdads… It got us our first kiss.” The picture was of the moment right after Emma had said that, Emma was laughing brilliantly, and Regina was just staring at her with a playful glare that had love plastered all over her face. Regina smiled at the memory, especially after the snorkeling guide had informed Regina that Crayfish didn’t swim in salt water. Emma had laughed even louder at that, and Regina couldn’t help but tap her on her arm playfully and join in on the laughter.

Regina smiled at the memory, as her heart ached, at the thought of losing the opportunity to make any more memories because of her idiocy. She took a sharp breath and wiped away a stray tear. She couldn’t lose Emma… But she couldn’t face her either, so what was she to do?

At that moment, there was a loud tap at the door, and in stepped Blue. At Regina’s questioning raised brow, she explicated why she was there. “Emma sent me, to give you these. She said you made it clear where you stood on the marriage ordeal and just wants to be happy.”

Regina felt bile rise up in her throat as Reul handed her what was undoubtedly divorce papers. She stood up and rushed to the trashcan in the office and hurled the last remnants of her breakfast. “S-she’s divorcing me? She doesn’t even want to talk about it?”

Blue looked annoyedly at her. “You’re the one who has been avoiding her this past week. She hasn’t hidden from you. You’ve had ample opportunity to go see her and haven’t made a single attempt to do so. Just passed along a few messages through second parties, and that was about it.”

Regina swallowed the lump in her throat. “But it’s only been a week…” She said exasperatedly.

Blue sighed and shook her head. “I regret turning back time for you… It really was all a waste it seems.” She said with a click of her tongue. “Oh well, I have to go. I’ll see you around, alright?” She asked before she teleported away.

Regina let out a sob as she opened the manila envelope and studied the papers… that was precisely what they were… “Petition for Dissolution Of Marriage” Was written right at the top, their names not far below it. Regina felt desperation grab hold of her as she grabbed the papers and magically relocated herself into the sheriff station… Waiting hadn’t worked, so now it was time to grovel.

As soon as she landed in the hallway outside of Emma’s office, she saw the blonde sheriff, and her heart dropped… She looked miserable. The bags under her eyes had bags of their own, her skin was pale, her hair was in a matted bun, and she looked like she hadn’t eaten in days. _Did I do this to her?_ She questioned herself.

As soon as Emma looked up, Regina could see dried tear streaks and immediately sprung into action. She didn’t want to lose Emma, and she didn’t want Emma to suffer any longer. She rushed to the office door and knocked as her heart thudded inside of her chest. She saw Emma turn around and a look of surprise overcame her face. They stood there, staring at each other through the window of Emma’s office door for a few moments before Emma finally rose and opened the door. “You’re here,” Emma said raspily as if her throat was sore from the immense amount of tears she'd cried.

Regina nodded. “I’m here.” She agreed.

“Why?” Emma asked, perplexed.

“BECAUSE OF THESE!” Regina yelled as she waved the manila envelope in front of Emma’s face; but as she saw the fear in Emma’s eyes, she immediately cooled herself down as she internally chastised herself for losing her temper again. “Emma, I know I fucked up… Worse than I ever have before. You have every right to be angry, and upset, and hurt… but a divorce?! Yes, I know that you have every right to leave me, but can’t we at least t _ry?_ I’ll do whatever it takes… Counseling, temporary separation, I’ll even sleep on the couch for the foreseen future while we work through this… But please, cancel your petition for divorce. **_Please_** , we can work through this?… I’ll do whatever it takes.”

Emma furrowed her brow and opened her mouth to interrupt, but Regina continued. “You think I don’t trust you, and I understand that because of what I said to you. But I swear to you, Emma… I do. I trust you more than anyone else in any realm. I trust you with my life. I trust you so damn much that it’s embarrassing. I don’t know why I reacted so rashly, but I-,”

“Regina…” Emma tried to interrupt once more, but the Mayor continued to blather on.

“I regret it so much, Emma… I just got so jealous because I know that she means a lot to you, and I know that does not excuse the way that I treated you, and I’m terrible at apologies, but I’m really trying here, so just give me a chance, Emma… One last chance. That’s all I’m asking… Please… Just cancel your petition for divorce. I promise, whatever steps you wat to take, we can take… just let us take them together, Emmy… please.”

Emma raised a brow towards Regina, and the mayor’s stomach churned, preparing for the rejection that seemed to be about to fall from her wife’s lips.

“Regina…”

The former queen gulped. “Yes?”

“I didn’t file for divorce…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They're finally talking!  
> What do you think Emma's going to say?


	4. Chapter 4

Emma’s words hit Regina in the gut, and she couldn't help but clarify. “Y-you didn’t?”

The sheriff shook her head with confusion evident on her face. “No, but it’s not like it’s not up in the air along with everything else, at the moment.”

Regina hated what her wife was implying. Sure, she was relieved that Emma _hadn’t_ filed for divorce, and she made a mental note to kick Reul’s ass for manipulating her like that, but divorce didn’t seem out of the cards for Emma at the moment, and that terrified her. “Emma, please…”

Emma shook her head aggravatedly and dropped into her office chair abruptly. “Why would you want to be with me, Regina? I’m a selfish and adulterous bitch, remember?” She asked angrily, but Regina could see behind the very potent anger and saw the hurt that came along with it... Emma was still heartbroken, along with her fury, and that hurt Regina far worse than the anger her wife was aiming throwing her way.

Regina’s heart broke at the realization and tried to beg. “Emma, please… I’m so sorry for what I said.”

Emma raised her eyebrow. “Are you? Because I’d have thought that if you were, you’d have come a lot sooner than you have to attempt at fixing us. You meant what you said, Regina… You think I’m disloyal. You think anyone can just come up and steal me.”

Regina felt a lump form in her throat, she did her best to clear it away before she spoke again, but her emotion was still evident in her voice. “I don’t think any of that, Emma… I was just blinded by jealousy and anger.”

“Misplaced jealousy and anger,” Emma corrected. “Because if you had made any effort to see where I was every time you apparently thought I was with a side piece, you would have realized that I was not cheating on you… I’m not quite sure why you thought I was cheating, nothing at home had changed besides the fact that I was a bit busier than normal, and on my phone a bit more. I never strayed away from showing you all the love and affection that I could.”

Regina felt guilt begin to dig away at her. She saw how all of Emma’s walls were up, and that destroyed the former queen because those walls hadn’t been up, especially not against her, in twenty years. The fact that she could visibly see the tension in Emma’s shoulders, and hear the defensive tone of her voice, made it abundantly clear that it was going to take an immense gesture for Regina to earn back Emma’s trust. “Will you at least come back to the mansion? I’ll sleep in the guest bedroom if you’d like, I just really miss you.”

Emma didn’t even take a moment to contemplate Regina’s request as she shook her head. “I need time to process this… This was always my greatest fear with you that you’d never really have faith in me. That for some reason you’d always think the worst of me… I have a friend back in Boston that has a case he needs me to work, and I think I’m going to take it… It’ll give me time to step away from this problem, and look at it from a different angle… It should only take a few weeks. A month tops.”

Regina’s heart sank. “You can’t just-just… _leave_! We have to work this out!” She croaked out. “I fucked up, and I admit that, but I can’t lose you, Emma.” She was crying at that point, but she couldn’t bring herself to fight it anymore, she was losing all of her strength to do so.

Emma huffed and covered her face with her hands. “Do you even know how hard it was for me not to just end it all after everything you said?”  She asked weakly, causing a fear to ignite in Regina’s heart that she’d only felt when Emma had been unconscious for five days when the mines had collapsed, and she was smashed under a mountain of debris. “I-I made you-,” She cut herself off, not able to say the word aloud.

“Suicidal?” Emma chuckled humorlessly. “Yeah, a bit. Do you have any idea what hearing that obloquy being spewed at me by my _wife_ did to me, Regina!? The woman that I loved with all of my heart, and had planned to surprise with a second wedding and a honeymoon? The one person that I needed more than air? That person, the one person I needed to be accepted by, thinks that I’m a lying, greedy, self-absorbed, easy-to-steal, unfaithful, and selfish bitch. You say you didn’t truly believe it, but with only circumstantial evidence, you were able to say it all straight to my face. Just because you regret saying it, doesn’t mean that you didn’t mean it.”

Regina's heart felt as if it were set afire, and that the gasoline feeding it was guilt. “I never wanted to cause you pain. I don't know why the things that came out of my mouth, did so. I do not believe any of the things I said, Emma. I love you, so damn much, and I never wanted to say any of the things that I did that day. How can I prove to you that I didn’t mean anything that I said? You name it and I’ll do it.” Regina pleaded.

Emma let out a defeated sigh and shook her head. “I don’t know if you can, Regina. I need time, now… If you had pursued me, tried anything to actually confront me and fix things, it might have been a bit easier to process and get over, but you let this marinate for over a week, and that honestly makes me think that you just didn’t care. The only reason you’re here now is that you’re afraid of what the future holds because of those phony divorce papers.”

“No!” Regina practically yelled. “I am _not_ giving up on us like this. We are true loves! We don’t give up on each other!”

Emma tilted her head slightly. “You gave up on us for over a week.”

Regina couldn’t take it; she had to show Emma her true feelings. So she closed her eyes and did the one thing that gave her and Emma a fighting chance to be together from the beginning… She made a wish. _I wish that time would freeze so I could go to my vault and get my mind reader._

When Regina’s eyes opened, she was happy to see Blue standing between her and a frozen-in-place, Emma. She was wearing a very unimpressed look on her face. “You are _indubitably_  the most idiotic person I’ve ever met,” Blue said sternly, causing Regina to frown. “How on Earth did you manage to fuck this up so terribly?”

Regina deflated. “I’m the Evil Queen, bug… How the hell else did anyone expect this to go?”

Blue shook her head and sighed. “I’m not reversing time because if I continue to do this every time you make a mistake, things could get acrimonious in the future. However, I will, however, pause time briefly so that you can go and get your stupid dreamcatcher without Emma running off.”

Regina felt a bit of relief wash over her. “Thank you, so much.” She said before preparing to teleport to her vault to find the magical dreamcatcher but paused when she remembered that she was still very furious with the fairy for almost giving Regina a heart attack with those fake divorce papers. “Oh, and Reul?”

“Hm?” The Nun asked.

“If you ever pretend as if my wife has any intention of leaving me, again, I will gut you.”

And with that, Regina poofed herself away to find the only device that had the potential to save her marriage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the short chapter, but I thought this was the perfect stopping point if I wanted to update quickly!
> 
> Please let me know if you enjoyed!


	5. Chapter 5

Regina reached her vault and hurriedly searched for the dreamcatcher that Emma had once used on Pongo all those years ago when she’d been framed for the pseudo-Archie’s murder. She’d kept it locked away for so long, and now she was glad that she had. She’d never thought it would be necessary; she’d just kept it to spite Rumple. For once, it seemed, that her spite had worked in her favor, and with a little potion, she could make that little trinket not only show Emma her memories but make her feel them as well.

She could have Emma sift through her mind to any point she wished and feel and see what Regina had in that moment. That’s precisely what she planned to do and hoped to any deity that could possibly be real, that it’d be enough to convince Emma to give her one last chance.

She rummaged through crate after crate of her magical items, not finding the enchanted dreamcatcher, but finding something better: An Empath Crystal. Fist bumping the air in victory she teleported herself back to the sheriff’s station in hopes that her discovery would be sufficient in helping her regain Emma’s love once more.

She landed back in the office, and nodded at Blue, signaling that she was ready for time to continue. With a roll of her eyes, Reul spoke one last time. “She loves the hell out of you, Regina… but she is able to leave you. I can feel it, she’d be miserable, but she could do it if you really screwed up, which you did here… So, stop being juvenile when things get scary. Stop jumping to conclusions, and _converse_ with your wife when things get hairy. Okay? I’m rooting for you, but… I really hope it’s not too late. Good luck.” She squeezed Regina’s shoulder encouragingly before she disappeared.

Emma stayed frozen for a bit longer, and while she was frozen in time, Regina contemplated what Reul’s statement meant… Emma was able to leave her, she was strong enough to walk away from Regina if she fucked up badly enough, and that not only terrified her, but it broke her heart. Emma could cheat on her, and Regina would still fight to keep them together somehow… Did that mean that after all this time, Emma was slowly beginning to love her less?

Before she could get lost in her rampant thoughts, time unfroze, and Emma continued speaking. “So, I really don’t know what you want me to do, R’gina. You made it pretty clear what you think of me.”

Regina shook her head frantically and wordlessly offered out the grey crystal to her wife.

The sheriff crinkled her brows. “What the hell is that?” She asked bluntly, reminding the former queen just how much she loved the Sheriff.

“It’s an Empath Crystal. It allows the wielder to feel the owner’s emotions about and on any specific topic, date, person, or time. If you think about a specific date and time, you will feel the emotions they had at that exact moment. If you want to feel their emotions in real-time, all you have to do is think about the present…

Emma still looked confused but took the offered crystal. “And who’s the owner of this one?” She asked skeptically.

Regina pointed to the magical engraving on the crystal that spelled out her name. “Me.” She said. “You currently believe that the things I called you last week are how I truly feel about you, and I am asking you, to use this on me so that you can see the truth.”

Emma looked back and forth between the crystal and her wife. “No, Regina. I don’t think I could handle that.” She shook her head, sadness and fear evident in her eyes.

Regina’s heart clenched with dread. If Emma didn’t do this, she would never believe Regina. “Please, Emma. I know you have no reason to, but please do this for me. Any day you want… AS many days and topics you want… Just go through whatever you need to go through in my mind to believe me.”

 Emma bit the inside of her cheek, a tick she did when she was irritated and nervous and thinking at the same time. “Any day?”

Regina nodded. “You can use it as far back as you’d like, on as many days as you like, for however long you’d like. You will see that I have never, could never, and will never believe a single word I uttered last Friday.”

Emma clenched her jaw, a sign that Regina knew meant that the Savior was thinking. The Mayor held her breath as nervousness and anxiety grew to insurmountable levels inside of her.

Finally, after a painstaking amount of time, Emma nodded. “Fine, how’s this thing work?” She asked.

Regina let out a breath of relief as she explained the way the crystal functioned. “You hold the crystal with one hand on each end, and then think of a person, place, thing, or moment that you want to know my thoughts and feelings on.

“Will it tell you what I’m seeing?”

Regina shrugs, beyond nervous at the moment. “Only if it senses that you wish me to know.”

Emma nodded once before taking a deep breath and closing her eyes. Soon, the grey stone was thrumming to life, and Regina watched as Emma’s eyes opened and were shining grey, signaling that the Crystal was already projecting images to the blonde.

She gulped, and hoped that what Emma saw would be enough because if it wasn’t enough to get her one last chance, she wasn’t sure anything would be; and losing Emma was something she couldn’t survive.

**XXX**

Emma was nervous, but as she thought about their wedding day, and the crystal showed Regina’s view as she interrupted the ceremony where Emma was supposed to be wedding Killian, she instantly felt fear, nauseous, and hope; along with the strongest and purest form of love imaginable as her ( _REGINA’S_ eyes she reminded herself) focused on Emma.

She then began to hear Regina’s thoughts on that day echo in her mind.

_“Please don’t marry him, please Emma please choose me.”_

_“I can’t even begin to imagine my life without you.”_

_“I don’t know if I’ll be able to survive this if you still marry him.”_

_“I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you I remember everything too.”_

It broke Emma’s heart that her wife had been so terrified that day, but then she watched as Emma said ‘yes’ when Archie asked if there was still going to be a wedding, and she felt her (Regina’s) heart break into a trillion microscopic pieces. The feeling of resignation and complete devastation overwhelmed her to the point where she thought she was going to suffocate.

Emma felt a tear run down her own cheek as she felt Regina fightback tears. She felt Regina’s whimper and felt the pain, the hopelessness, the gut-wrenching, heart ache at that as she turned to walk out the door and began to mentally chastise herself.

“Why on Earth did I think for a second that I could ever really win her heart? **Of course** , she doesn’t love me. She can’t… It was all just a fantasy that I-,”

She was startled by a hand on her shoulder, and as she turned around, confusion, hope, and love flowed through her entire body when she saw Emma’s nervous smile.

When Emma explained that she wanted to marry Regina instead of Hook, the Savior felt Regina’s heart swell with jubilation and excitement as she jumped into Emma’s arms and kissed her soundly.

 

Emma smiled internally at the memory before switching to something more real. She wanted to know how Regina genuinely felt about her now. If She really still cared about Emma or was just scared of being alone again and really did believe everything she had said in the alley last week.

So, she switched to read Regina’s thoughts and feelings about Emma, in real-time.

Immediately it was like she was hit in the stomach with love, guilt, and trust. The love was so strong; it rivaled Emma’s own love for Regina. Then she heard Regina’s real-time thoughts about her.

_“What if it isn’t enough? What if even once she sees my love is real, she thinks I’m no longer good enough for her? She’d be right, but I’ll die. How could I ever survive without her?”_

_“I’m such an imbecile. How could I have waited so long? Why was I such a coward? That isn’t what I DO. Then again; she’s always been the exception to every rule I had.”_

_“I love her so much.”_

_“She’s still so beautiful, even when she looks a mess…”_

_“She’s a **hot** mess…” _

Emma smirked internally at the last comment for a moment before the reality of the other thoughts kicked into her mind… Regina was terrified that she was about to be left by Emma, she still loved her tremendously. The only negative feelings Regina harbored regarding the sheriff were guilt, regret, and the fear of Emma filing for divorce… There was no anger, no resentment, not hatred, no distrust… SO what the hell made Regina say those things last week?

She was going to stop here, but the need to know for sure why her wife had said those things was enough to get her to check out Regina’s point of view during the fight last week.

 

**XXX**

Regina stood before her wife, as her heart was pounding out of her chest, and her body was trembling. This was the save-all end-all moment… When Emma decided to end her rummage through Regina’s memories, all she could hope for was that knowing that Regina loved her more than anything in existence would be enough to get her to grant Regina one more chance. Just one, that’s all she needed. She would make sure of it.

If Emma forgave her, Regina would do whatever it took to keep her; to make her happy. She’d be the perfect wife. Loyal, loving, doting, just like she had been, but even better. She’d cook every night, be home from work with supper waiting on the table when Emma got home from the station.

She’d be the picture-perfect wife you’d see in the movies. No matter what. All Emma had to do was say yes.

If Emma still didn’t find her worthy after this and filed for divorce? Regina wouldn’t be able to smile… She didn’t even think she’d be able to live… She _knew_ she couldn’t… not after almost sixteen years of paradise with her… It would be fatal to the mayor if Emma took herself away from Regina and threw her back into the depths of the hell in which she used to live before their marriage.

She watched as Emma continued to vibrate from the magic of the Empath Crystal, and then feels her anxiety pick up even more (if that was even possible) as the grey light in her eyes disappears and the vibrating stops. Emma blinks once, twice, three times, and then meets Regina’s eyes.

Regina swallows thickly and lets out a shaky breath. “D-did you see what you needed to see?”

Emma nodded, a look in her eyes that Regina couldn’t quite decipher.

“W-what did you deci-,”

“You think that you aren’t enough for me.” Emma blurted out, successfully cutting Regina off.

The brunette gulped and nodded in defeat before averting her eyes to the door, wanting to run, but too scared of the consequences of doing so. If she had any hope at all of salvaging this, Regina had to stay; she couldn’t run like the coward she’d been acting like this past week.

“You didn’t genuinely _believe_ that I was cheating on you. You thought that I was staying out late to avoid you because you weren’t making me happy.”

She kept her head lowered, ashamed of herself. Knowing that Emma was done, and was going to ask for a divorce.

“Then you heard the phone call with Lily, and got extra suspicious and put the idea that I hadn’t just been ignoring you… I had been cheating on you.”

Regina felt a tear fall down her cheek, and just before she brought her hand up to wipe it away, a familiar hand cupped her cheek. She felt butterflies in her stomach, and a tiny glimmer of hope in her chest as Emma’s hand directed her face to look up and meet her eyes. “You blamed yourself. Thought that everything that was ‘happening’ was your fault. You were screaming at me, calling me all sorts of names because you were heartbroken and devastated. You didn’t believe anything you said. You love me just as much as I love you.”

Regina felt even more hope rise inside her as she stared into Emma’s beautiful green eyes and shook her head. “Everything I said was out of blind rage and heartache… I would never say those things to you clear headed.”

Emma smiled and nodded her head. “I know.”

Regina couldn’t breathe. She wanted so much to lean up and kiss her wife, to end this feud, to have Emma back in her arms and holding her close and loving her again, and she had hope that it would happen now. Because Emma was looking at her with love in her eyes, and an understanding smile. “So, could we maybe try to work this out? Please? I’m sorry, Emma. For everything that I said that day, and I will apologize to Lily too. I want to renew our vows, and go on a second honeymoon with you. I want to put everything behind us. I will be better, I swear. I’ll be the best wife you could ever dre-,” She was cut off by Emma gently pressing her index finger over her lips.

“Let me finish,” Emma said with a small grin. Regina blushed and nodded. “You should have come to me the moment you sensed that I was unhappy.” Emma admonishes, and Regina’s heart shatters all over again. She knew it was too good to be true… Emma was still leaving. But Emma continued to speak. “Because if you had, I would have told you as sincerely and earnestly as I possibly could that you are the only one that I want.” Regina furrowed her brows, but her heart once more filled with hope. “Regina Swan-Mills, if you didn’t make me happy, why the hell would I have gone through the trouble of planning an entire second wedding, down to the freaking table cloths, for us?” She asked with a chuckle.

Regina smiled, her heart overflowing with hope now. She just wanted to kiss Emma and make all of this pain go away.

“You are the one that I chose, Regina. You’re the one that I love. The one that gets to hold me and kiss me and well… you know what else.” She said with a wink, causing Regina to actually laugh for the first time since this entire situation began.

“You are by far the most amazing woman in the world, Regina. I could never want anyone the way that I want you. I could never love any one the way that I love you, and I could never, ever, ever, not fight for you.”

Regina couldn’t fight it anymore; it’d been over a week since she last kissed her wife, and she felt as if she’d combust into flames if she didn’t do it soon. She surged forward and connected their lips in a heated kiss causing them both to moan out of pleasure. They both needed that kiss more than they’d realized.

When they pulled back, they were breathless and lustful. “Will you marry me, again?” Regina asked nervously.

Emma’s smile widened wide as she kissed her wife once more. “I’ve already got the wedding planned, Mrs. Swan-Mills.”

Regina’s heart repaired itself at Emma’s acceptance. “I love you so much, Emma… I’m so sor-,”

She was cut off once again, but this time by her wife’s lips. “No more apologizing, Gina. I just want to come home and cuddle with you in our bed again.”

Regina smiled as happiness exuded through her. Emma was coming _home,_ and she wanted to sleep in _their_ bed as she cuddled with _Regina_. It was all she could have hoped for times five. “Then let's go, my love.” She said as she offered her wife her hand.

Emma smiled and took the offered hand, and before they knew it, they were at home, in their bed, tucked under the covers as they held each other like releasing the other would result in the end of the world.

 It’d be a long road, but a vow renewal ceremony and a week in a tropical climate were just what they needed. But their son was right; they’d make it through this because; they were _SwanQueen._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading!Please let me know if you enjoyed!

**Author's Note:**

> **I hope you enjoyed. ******
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> **Do you think that Emma is cheating?? With who? If you don't, who could be the other person on the phone? ********  
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> **Please feel free to speculate in the comments! :) ********  
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